Today the number of mobile computing devices is growing and they have penetrated all spheres of human life. The most popular among them are mobile phones, smartphones, notebooks, communicators, and navigation systems. Mobile devices are used as a means of communication, work and entertainment. In tandem with the development of these devices, wireless means of communication are also being developed and are inseparable therefrom. The transfer of data from one device to another and the exchange of information are tasks which cause no difficulty even for an inexperienced user of these devices.
Modern mobile devices are very popular not only among an adult audience, but are also being actively used by children and adolescents, and they afford the possibility of accessing the Internet practically anywhere and at any time of the day. The Internet contains various information, often oriented only to an adult user audience. For example, some information is of a pornographic nature and may be found on various dating sites. Obviously, such informational resources should be closed to visits by children.
Yet every year there are more and more children and adolescents visiting the Internet and trying to learn about it and use its possibilities. The Internet allows them to learn, to grow, and to be part of a virtual classroom. At the same time, young Internet users are often unprepared to adequately take in the data that are found and obtained there, which might be inappropriate, untrustworthy, or dangerous, and consequently may cause harm not only to the computer, but also to the users themselves. There are applications which may be inappropriate to a varying degree for children of various age groups, such as: gaming applications; application with in-game shopping; applications with a large number of rights (access to sending of SMS, for example); applications with a high ESRB rating; and others.
Thus, there is a need to develop parental control technologies to protect children from applications not suitable to their age category.